Escape from Reality
by simply.me.forever
Summary: P. Sawyer gets fed up with her life's drama, so she moves to a town with a whole different kind of drama...what will happen? -SEASON 3 TVD SPOILERS-


**Chapter 1**

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><p>"<em>I put my head up against the wall<em>

_I couldn't help but stall_

_With eleven regrets one flower."_

This was it. I was leaving Tree Hill. I looked back shortly in the rear view mirror as I passed the city limits sign before letting my eyes snap forward to the road. No more looking back. No more Lucas or Brooke. No more Nathan or Haley. No more Jake.

My dad was still going to live in Tree Hill when he wasn't at sea, but he had a place for me in the town where he was born and raised for a short while, Mystic Falls, Virginia. He was concerned, of course, when I told him I needed to leave, but after I explained, he helped me figure things out. He's helping me pay rent on an apartment, and I'm already prepared to finish my senior year at Mystic Falls High.

As I drove, the top down on my Comet and music playing, my phone buzzed. I looked at it for a moment before flipping it open and answering. "I've been gone for all of thirty minutes. I'm not coming back. Not for a while, at least. What do you want?"

"Listen, Haley told me you were leaving. And I just wanted you to know that even though I think you're a bitch, I'm gonna miss you," my ex-best friend said on the other line.

"What?" I nearly slammed on the breaks in shock.

"Yeah. With you gone, people will give me back the title of town skank. But really, I'm glad you're leaving. Now I don't have to worry about you stealing my boyfriend again. Guess some other girl gets to worry about that now," Brooke said before hanging up.

I groaned in frustration before tossing the phone on the passenger seat. Note to self: get a new cell phone number. I ran my hand through my curly blonde hair and continued the drive.

Four hours later, I passed a sign saying 'Mystic Falls Welcomes You!' and continued to follow the directions to the apartment building I would call home for the next several months.

I noted that the town was small, like Tree Hill, and looked pretty similar to it. There just didn't seem to be a river or likely to be a beach nearby. But I figured if Mystic Falls looked too much like Tree Hill, I'd have to leave and find a new town. Especially if I ran into any Lucas look-alikes. I decided not to pay much attention to the sites until later. I'd been to the building with dad once before to drop off my bed and a few other larger pieces of furniture, but wasn't there long, so I couldn't remember totally where the building was. I did know it was near a restaurant and close to the school.

I found the building and grabbed some bags before locking up the car and going up to my apartment, fumbling with my keys as I walked up the stairs.

"Hey, you must be the new neighbor," a tall man said, moving aside as I ascended the last few steps before walking to my door. "I'm Nick," he smiled, holding out a hand before realizing my hands were full.

"Sorry, I'd shake your hand, but…" I shrugged and began to unlock the door.

"Right. Do you need help getting anything else?"

"No, I got it. My dad was already here this week so the big stuff has been taken care of."

"Oh! Larry's your dad!" he smiled. "He was a good friend of my dad way back in the day. Well, since you don't need any help, I'm meeting some friends. But I'll most likely see you around some time."

I nodded and watched him walk away for a moment before going inside. I looked around at the boxes that contained my art supplies and music and walked to my room to put my bags on the bed and decided to start unpacking and organizing.

By the time I had everything where I wanted and new sheets on the bed, it was past seven and I was hungry. I contemplated staying in and making a sandwich before I remembered I still needed to shop, so I picked up my keys and jacket and decided to walk to the restaurant I saw and locked my door on the way out.

The restaurant was called the Mystic Grill. I wasn't convinced that it was a too original name, but it fit, so I shrugged and entered the building.

"Well, this is no Karen's Café, that's for sure," I muttered as I looked around to find a place to sit, by orders of the 'Please Seat Yourself' sign. The place had fireplaces, pool tables, a bar, and seemed to be the place for the local teens to hang out. Basically a mix of Tric and Karen's. There was even a stage.

A few minutes after I sat at a table, a waiter came over to take my order. "Hi, I'm Matt, and I'll be serving you tonight, what can I get you?" he asked.

"I think a coke and chicken wrap," I replied, setting down the menu. "Hey, I hate to bug you, but where is the nearest grocery store?"

He pocketed his notepad, and met my eyes. "New to town?" I nodded. "Well, there's one up the street. This is the main road for businesses."

I nodded once more. "Thanks. And you wouldn't happen to know who's hiring any place, would you?"

"I can pick up an application for you here, but I know the bookstore needs someone and there's a new music store that might be hiring. It's a couple blocks away on Park," he said, gesturing out the window.

"Thank you. Sorry for bugging you," I said.

"It's no problem. Are you gonna be at Mystic Falls High?" he asked, his blue eyes meeting mine.

"Yeah. I start Monday."

"Good luck. I gotta go place your orders and take care of other customers, but it was nice meeting you," he said.

"You too," I said, and looked down at my buzzing phone. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Peyt. Did you make it?"

"Yeah. I'm at the…Mystic Grill."

"That's still there?" Dad chuckled on the other line. "Well, your apartment has a fridge and TV, and is fully stocked with cable and internet, so the only thing you need to worry about is going to the market to get food."

"Yeah, I just found out where it is."

"If you need anything or decide to come home, just call. And call anyways so I know you're alright. Your neighbor is the son of an old friend, so he can help you out too, and if you need anything else, find out if John Gilbert is still in town. I know you haven't seen him in years, but he's a good friend, and would love to help you out."

I rolled my eyes as he spoke, nodding at Matt when he brought my Coke. "Yeah, okay, Dad. I gotta go. I love you."

"Love you too, Pumpkin. Call me Monday."

"I will," I said before ending the call.

I sighed and looked around the restaurant, noting the other waiters and waitresses and customers. Several looked to me teenagers, but there was the occasional adult. I saw a group of people who looked to be my age surrounding one table, all of them looking concerned. Another town with drama, I supposed.

After I ate, I saw an open pool table, and decided to go play. I never played very often, mostly when I dated Nathan and went to Brooke's house, but I was pretty good. I was just racking up when I heard a voice.

"Mind if I join you?" I turned to look at the owner of the voice, a guy who looked to be maybe a couple years older than me. He had light brown hair, brown eyes, a distinct English accent, and a smile, though there seemed to be something sinister in it.

I shook it off before shrugging. "It's a free country. Sure."

His smile grew and he moved to pick up a stick. "Ladies first," he said, gesturing at the table. "I'm Kol, by the way."

I nodded and broke. "Peyton."

"Good to meet you," he said, and made his shot, landing two solids in a row before missing one. "Are you new to town?"

"Brand new," I said, landing a stripe. "You live here?"

"You wouldn't figure, but yes. My family is relatively new here as well. Though we lived here once upon a time for a short while," he said, moving out of my way so I could aim properly.

"My dad was born here and raised until he was about ten I think," I said. "Dammit," I muttered, missing after four.

"Nice try. It was a good shot," he said. I was slightly irritated though, when he made the next several shots before finally missing. I made my first one before my phone started buzzing. I sighed and hit ignore before shooting again. I made it, but my phone buzzed yet again.

"Well, aren't you Miss Popular?" Kol smirked.

"Not really. I did leave town with only telling a few people though, so I expect they want to know if I made it safely," I shrugged.

We continued to talk as we played the fairly evenly matched game, me ignoring several calls, before another guy walked over. "Who's your friend, Kol?" he asked. He was about the same height as Kol, but blonde haired and blue-eyed. He had the same accent, so I could only assume he was a family member.

"This is Peyton. Peyton, this is my big brother, Nicklaus," Kol introduced.

"Nice to meet you, Nicklaus," I said, holding out my hand.

I was caught off guard when the man took my hand and raised it to his lips, though I quickly schooled my features as he began to speak. "Please, call me Klaus."

I nodded and went to make my move, but missed, even causing the cue ball to go in the pocket in place of my target.

"Bad luck," Kol said, and smirked as he finished the game. "Another? Would you like to join us, Brother?"

I smiled. "I really should go. I have a busy day tomorrow, and have to finish unpacking tonight," I said. "but it was nice to meet you two, really."

"No, stay," Kol said after walking closer.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "Your eyes were-"

"Oh, fine," he said, looking momentarily confused before a look of annoyance crossed his face. "Maybe I'll see you around."

I nodded before picking up my keys and the application Matt had brought me with my meal and left to walk back to my apartment. One day down, too many to go.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or One Tree Hill. <strong>

**I hope you all liked it! I'm going for a very strange timeline mix here, I know. But it's after Peyton confesses her still there feelings for Lucas to Brooke, and a bit after the school shooting. But this is also going with current TVD episodes, so I'll only update once a week, or really whenever a new episode premiers. I may even throw in a short filler episode here and there. **

**Now, for the fun part. I don't care whether you review or not, but if you want a say in the pairing of this story, you will now. I was originally thinking Peyton/Damon, but I may give Matt someone to love, or even put her with Klaus or maybe and OC. I'm not a good Stefan writer, as I will admit to you now, I'm not a Stefan fan. So it's either Damon, Matt, Klaus or OC. Review if you like it. The man with the most votes wins! Or possibly whoever reviews first. **

**Again, I hope you liked it, and get crackin' on letting me know who's gonna be P. Sawyer's boy! :D**


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